#53: Finding Books Online

For this exercise, I looked up bookstores in my area and reviewed their online presence.
Doing a Google search for "Bookstores 77054," I retrieved a list of stores. The closest are Half Price Books, Brazos Bookstore and Inner Harmony. Half Price has a general website that lists their locations. This store is my favorite bookstore b/c 1)they're discounted books and 2) they have a wide variety of topics including my favorites: art, fiction and graphic novels. Brazos' site is aesthetically pleasing but hard to navigate and takes too long to upload pages. I am impatient; if I'm going to browse, I'd rather do it in person. As for Inner Harmony, no site or online reviews are provided.
To test the search features, I chose to look for The Dictionary of Failed Relationships. Brazos does have this title online and provides a short synopsis of the book. I searched HCPL's catalog and Bartleby, both do not own copies. Amazon does have this title as an eBook for as little as $8.80. Luckily, I went to Half Price recently and stumbled across this book in their CLEARANCE section for $2.00! Although it is convenient to purchase online, I do enjoy visiting real locations b/c it is rewarding when you find great deals. I use Abebooks.com frequently which has books as little as $1 and most sellers will lower their shipping and handling for multiple purchases.
I briefly reviewed the book swapping sites and I am weary to try those b/c I would have to pay for shipping and there is still a chance that someone may not honor your service.
Another part of the exercise is to explore eBooks. I downloaded the required software to read ebooks from Harris County Public Library's Overdrive and started reading a non-fiction book. This isn't my preferred method of leisure reading (on my computer screen) but it is convenient for when I have to be online for long spurts and am interested in testing out a book before I buy it.
I don't ever intend on purchasing ebooks b/c I enjoy having a book at hand and getting the tactile experience. I don't know if its being old fashioned or resisting change, but reading the traditional bound book is more appealing than reading an electronic version.